Video: Putting story threads in order

Once you've edited your favorite clips, your pearls, into a project, it's time to string those pearls together into a rough story form with a beginning, middle, and end. Sometimes the shape of the story is clear and pops right out at you, other times you need to string and then restring the pearls in different ways to create that beautiful necklace. And for this process, you will be happy Final Cut Pro has a magnetic timeline. In the Project Library you will see that there are three projects that we are going to work with. Let's start with the Coffee project.

Dive into narrative with Diana Weynand, as she shares a comprehensive method for finding, crafting, and developing a compelling story in Apple Final Cut Pro X. The course also covers key concepts such as building a primary storyline, evaluating content and pacing, trimming distracting clips, creating different story versions, and storyboarding. The course also explores how to capture and organize media, incorporate B-roll cutaways, apply the Ken Burns effect to still images, re-time music and clips, and add finishing touches.

Putting story threads in order

Once you've edited your favorite clips, your pearls, into a project, it's timeto string those pearls together into a rough story form with a beginning,middle, and end.Sometimes the shape of the story is clear and pops right out at you, othertimes you need to string and then restring the pearls in different ways tocreate that beautiful necklace.And for this process, you will be happy Final Cut Pro has a magnetic timeline.In the Project Library you will see that there are three projects that weare going to work with.Let's start with the Coffee project.

This project contains all of the clips, the favorite portions of the clip thatwe edited into a single project.And screening these clips before, we know that there is a process to the coffee;there is growing the coffee, there is making it, grinding it, processing it, andthen there is drinking it.So we already can anticipate a little bit of what the beginning, middle, and theend would be for this project.So let's go find the shots that we can position in that beginning, middle,and end order.So first of all, we can just use our down arrow to step through to seethe clips.

Well, there it is, the very beginning of the coffee process.It's the baby coffee tree plant.This goes at the beginning.So simply drag the clip using your Default Selection tool to the beginning ofthe clip and the other clips fall into place.Well we know also what the end result of growing coffee is and that's peoplesitting around and drinking it, and enjoying it together.So the growers drink clip is our ending coffee of this process.So simply drag it, and of course you are looking for the blue vertical lineto then drop it.

So we have our beginning clip, the baby tree growing, and our ending clip.What clip might represent a middle?Now that could be different ones, it could be pouring the roasted beans out,or grinding the beans.It probably wouldn't be picking because that would be earlier in the process.So you have a few options, it doesn't matter which one you use for this,just pick one.So let's take this grinding clip, and move it up a little bit into the orderof clips.So now we have three clips.

I am going to call them hinge clips, because the story shape hinges aroundthese three clips;the first one, the middle, and the final one at the end.Now your job is to simply look at the clips that remain and put them on oneside or other of the project.So the bean shoot doesn't belong second.So just push it down the line, doesn't matter where yet, and look at theclips that remain.We have the green beans, we have the -- oh!Well, before we have the beans, we have the buds, just the coffee buds ona branch.

So move that into position.Then we have the green beans, then we have the mature beans.Next, we anticipate people picking the beans.So this clip doesn't go there.So we will put the clip of the man picking the beans here.So just continue on and put the order of these clips into place.So the first thing that happens before people drink the coffee is that youpour coffee into a mug.And before that, well you probably brew the coffee.You get the idea?So what you're doing is creating a rough shape hinged around a beginning,middle, and end in this project.

Let's go to the next project Importers.In this project, we have a combination of two people talking and telling theirstory, Ben and Paul, and a few of the B-Roll clips.Now when you try to put in order what people are saying, it's a little bitmore of a challenge.Let's start with Paul as an example.(Video Playing) Paul: And so what was the risk?There was no risk. It was clear. It was clear that all the piecesof the puzzle were there if you focus on people.If you focus on product, then the risk was incredible,the risk was a seventy five thousand dollar risk.

Diana Weynand: Now this part of the clip, as we may have referred to before, works really wellon its own, and in a way it sets up Paul's involvement with this entire project.But we can't use it independently, and pull the entire clip forward withouttaking everything that follows.So what we're going to do is go in and choose from our Tools set, choose theBlade tool and snap to where we stopped playing.And when we do that, and go back and get our Select tool, we have a separateclip that we just created.

Now we can take Paul's clip and move it to the head of the project.So now that can become our hinge clip to start the project. It setseverything up to say, Gee!There was a huge risk to get involved with this project, but, and the butis what follows.Now, what do we want to be the end of this?Well, is it where Paul gets emotional and talks about how important it was tomake the decision to get involved?(Video Playing) Paul: In a certain kind of way, and you knowthat the one thing that's missing is you. And the story has come to you, and you're ready.

You spend 36 years --Diana Weynand: So Paul getting emotional might be something you want to come out of in thestory, or you might want to end on it.So if you want to end on it, drag to the end, and that sets up a hinge for abeginning, and an end, and now you would continue listening to the other clipsin this project and placing them in a logical order.Let's take another example and open the Narration project.When we edited the Narration clips, we sorted by Favorites, and then edited themall at one time in a single project.

That placed these clips in alphabetical order, and the eight clips that arebroken into separate clips appear side-by-side.(Audio Playing) Narrator: We delight in the smell of the brew.We drink it to start the day. When we meet friends. And at the moment, they're side-by-side, but later we may spread them out based onwhat visuals we want to use.So if we wanted to place these narration clips in an order that told the story,a beginning, middle, and end, we'd need to figure out which clip is a good kickoff, which clip begins the story in a nice way.

Well, let's listen to the VO_10 clip and see if this one will do it.(Audio Playing) Narrator: In the foothills of Africa's fourthlargest mountain, a group of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim coffee farmers affirmativelydecided to marry peaceful inner-relationships, with economic development.Diana Weynand: Well, that's a pretty good introduction to this entire story.So let's go ahead and move this narration to the beginning of the project.If you take a listen to Narration clip number 7, it might give you an idea ofwhere it belongs as well.(Audio Playing) Narrator: The farmers of Delicious Peace Coffee Co-opare a testament to this mutually beneficial relationship, which they've enhanced by adding the requirement of peace.

Diana Weynand: What a great ending, right?Okay, so grab that clip and drag it to the end, and then you would continuefiguring out what's a good middle, what's a good point to come to midway?Maybe it's talking about the clips, maybe it's talking about the commerceof coffee.But what you have started is a process of putting things into abeginning, middle, and end.Shifting your clips around in this way can be a pivotal point in yourstorytelling process.But if that clip order is eluding you, don't worry, just keep reviewing youroptions, and like a complex puzzle, your clips will eventually fall into place.

There are currently no FAQs about Effective Storytelling with Final Cut Pro X v10.0.9.

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